Extension enthusiasm

Rain will hold off the start of construction for a few days, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm for Portland Municipal Airport’s runway extension.

Portland Board of Aviation held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday with aviation enthusiasts, government officials and other supporters to celebrate a project that has been on the city’s wish list for more than two decades.

“I’m just happy to be here,” said Portland Mayor John Boggs while acknowledging two of his predecessors. (Former Mayor Randy Geesaman — 2012-2019 — was in attendance while former Mayor Bruce Hosier — 2004-2011 — was unable to attend.) “I think it’ll have a major impact on the economy of Portland.”

The groundbreaking — it was actually more posing with shovels thanks to the inclement weather — marked the launch of construction on the extension of the airport’s runway to 5,500 feet from the current 4,000 feet. HIS Constructors of Indianapolis began site preparation work on the project last week. Construction on phase one of the project — it involves enclosing 555 feet of Alexander Ditch and leveling land west of the current runway — will begin in the coming days as weather allows. Completion is expected by late fall.

The second phase of construction, which involves paving and lighting, is scheduled to follow in 2022.

The idea of extending the runway was first seriously discussed in 1999, with intermittent progress over the next decade-plus. The aviation board, in partnership with engineering firm Butler, Fairman and Seufert, began a justification study in 2013 that showed the airport could expect to nearly double its “operations” — take-offs and landings — if the runway was extended.

The extension will allow larger aircraft sufficient space to land and take off at the facility.

The study was submitted in early 2014, but the project was still initially denied by the Federal Aviation Administration that August.

Geesaman, who was mayor at the time, noted Tuesday that rather than giving up, city officials and Butler, Fairman and Seufert engineer Jason Clearwaters flew to Chicago in September 2014 to plead their case. In January 2015, the project’s justification study was approved.

“All the stars have aligned to make this happen,” said airport manager Hal Tavzel. “We’re just super, super excited this is actually happening. It started in 1999, when the community first wanted to do this, and here it is actually becoming a reality now.”

The last six-plus years have been focused on design and funding, with the FAA first awarding a design grant for the project in 2017. Funding for the first phase of construction was finally approved last fall, with the FAA picking up the entirety of the $3.8 million tab. (Such projects are typically funded 90% by the FAA with 5% coming from Indiana Department of Transportation and 5% from the municipality. Coronavirus relief funds allocated for aviation projects resulted in the FAA covering the state and local costs.)

Portland Board of Aviation members John Lyons, Faron Parr, Mitch Sutton and Clyde Bray approved a contract with HIS Constructors for the work in September.

The FAA last month announced nearly $900 million more in funding for infrastructure and safety projects, including $1.4 million for the second phase of the runway extension project in Portland. The official bid and grant process for the second phase is expected to be held later this summer.

In all, the federal funding is expected to save Portland about $218,000 in construction costs.

In addition to city officials, State Rep. J.D. Prescott, Chris Crabtree of U.S. Rep. Jim Banks’ office and several INDOT representatives were in attendance for the event.

Marty Blake, aviation manager for INDOT, credited the commitment of those who have pushed for the runway extension.

“I just wanted to compliment you guys on your local support. Look at this,” he said, referencing the crowd of about 40 in attendance. “Who is going to come out to an airport groundbreaking on a rainy Wednesday? … I think this is wonderful. This is great community support. We see this all over the state, but we don’t see it like this.

“The applause doesn’t go to the FAA. It doesn’t go to INDOT. It doesn’t go to the money. It goes to you.”